629 research outputs found
The use of a nonradioactive probe in RFLP analysis of Neurospora crassa DNA
Our laboratory is investigating the use of nonradioactive alternatives for the synthesis of DNA probes used in hybridization experiments
Exploring the components, asymmetry and distribution of relationship quality in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)
Social relationships between group members are a key feature of many animal societies. The quality of social relationships has been described by three main components: value, compatibility and security, based on the benefits, tenure and stability of social exchanges. We aimed to analyse whether this three component structure could be used to describe the quality of social relationships in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). Moreover, we examined whether relationship quality was affected by the sex, age and rank differences between social partners, and investigated the asymmetric nature of social relationships. We collected over 1,900 hours of focal data on seven behavioural variables measuring relationship quality,
and used principal component analysis to investigate how these variables clustered together. We found that relationship quality in wild Barbary macaques can be described by a three component structure that represents the value, compatibility and security of a relationship. Female-female dyads had more valuable relationships and same-age dyads more compatible relationships than any other dyad. Rank difference had no effect on the quality of a social relationship. Finally, we found a high degree of asymmetry in how members of a dyad exchange social behaviour. We argue that the asymmetry of social
relationships should be taken into account when exploring the pattern and function of social behaviour in animal societies
Acquired resistance to anti-PD1 therapy in patients with NSCLC associates with immunosuppressive T cell phenotype
Immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment has the potential to prolong survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), however, some of the patients develop resistance following initial response. Here, we analyze the immune phenotype of matching tumor samples from a cohort of NSCLC patients showing good initial response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, followed by acquired resistance at later time points. By using imaging mass cytometry and whole exome and RNA sequencing, we detect two patterns of resistanceš: One group of patients is characterized by reduced numbers of tumor-infiltrating CD8âT cells and reduced expression of PD-L1 after development of resistance, whereas the other group shows high CD8âT cell infiltration and high expression of PD-L1 in addition to markedly elevated expression of other immune-inhibitory molecules. In two cases, we detect downregulation of type I and II IFN pathways following progression to resistance, which could lead to an impaired anti-tumor immune response. This study thus captures the development of immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance as it progresses and deepens our mechanistic understanding of immunotherapy response in NSCLC
Rates of agonism among female primates: a cross-taxon perspective
Agonism is common in group-living animals, shaping dominance relationships and ultimately impacting individual tness. Rates of agonism vary considerably among taxa, however, and explaining this variation has been central in ecological models of female social relationships in primates. Early iterations of these models posited a link to diet, with more frequent agonism predicted in frugivorous species due to the presumed greater contestability of fruits relative to other food types. Although some more recent studies have suggested that dietary categories may be poor predictors of contest competition among primates, to date there have been no broad, cross-taxa comparisons of rates of femaleâfemale agonism in relation to diet. This study tests whether dietary variables do indeed pre- dict rates of female agonism and further investigates the role of group size (i.e., number of competitors) and substrate use (i.e., degree of arboreality) on the frequency of agonism. Data from 44 wild, unprovisioned groups, including 3 strepsirhine species, 3 platyrrhines, 5 colobines, 10 cercopithecines, and 2 hominoids were analyzed using phylogenetically controlled and uncontrolled methods. Results indicate that diet does not predict agonistic rates, with trends actually being in the opposite direction than predicted for all taxa except cercopithecines. In contrast, agonistic rates are positively associated with group size and possibly degree of terrestriality. Competitor density and perhaps the risk of ghting, thus, appear more important than general diet in predicting agonism among female primates. We discuss the implications of these results for socio-ecological hypotheses
Photoproduction of phi(1020) mesons on the proton at large momentum transfer
The cross section for meson photoproduction on the proton has been
measured for the first time up to a four-momentum transfer -t = 4 GeV^2, using
the CLAS detector at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility. At low
four-momentum transfer, the differential cross section is well described by
Pomeron exchange. At large four-momentum transfer, above -t = 1.8 GeV^2, the
data support a model where the Pomeron is resolved into its simplest component,
two gluons, which may couple to any quark in the proton and in the .Comment: 5 pages; 7 figure
Measurement of Inclusive Spin Structure Functions of the Deuteron
We report the results of a new measurement of spin structure functions of the
deuteron in the region of moderate momentum transfer ( = 0.27 -- 1.3
(GeV/c)) and final hadronic state mass in the nucleon resonance region (
= 1.08 -- 2.0 GeV). We scattered a 2.5 GeV polarized continuous electron beam
at Jefferson Lab off a dynamically polarized cryogenic solid state target
(ND) and detected the scattered electrons with the CEBAF Large
Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). From our data, we extract the longitudinal
double spin asymmetry and the spin structure function . Our
data are generally in reasonable agreement with existing data from SLAC where
they overlap, and they represent a substantial improvement in statistical
precision. We compare our results with expectations for resonance asymmetries
and extrapolated deep inelastic scaling results. Finally, we evaluate the first
moment of the structure function and study its approach to both the
deep inelastic limit at large and to the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule
at the real photon limit (). We find that the first moment varies
rapidly in the range of our experiment and crosses zero at between
0.5 and 0.8 (GeV/c), indicating the importance of the resonance at
these momentum transfers.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, ReVTeX 4, final version as accepted by Phys.
Rev.
Deeply virtual and exclusive electroproduction of omega mesons
The exclusive omega electroproduction off the proton was studied in a large
kinematical domain above the nucleon resonance region and for the highest
possible photon virtuality (Q2) with the 5.75 GeV beam at CEBAF and the CLAS
spectrometer. Cross sections were measured up to large values of the
four-momentum transfer (-t < 2.7 GeV2) to the proton. The contributions of the
interference terms sigma_TT and sigma_TL to the cross sections, as well as an
analysis of the omega spin density matrix, indicate that helicity is not
conserved in this process. The t-channel pi0 exchange, or more generally the
exchange of the associated Regge trajectory, seems to dominate the reaction
gamma* p -> omega p, even for Q2 as large as 5 GeV2. Contributions of handbag
diagrams, related to Generalized Parton Distributions in the nucleon, are
therefore difficult to extract for this process. Remarkably, the high-t
behaviour of the cross sections is nearly Q2-independent, which may be
interpreted as a coupling of the photon to a point-like object in this
kinematical limit.Comment: 15 pages,19 figure
Electroproduction of mesons at GeV measured with the CLAS spectrometer
Electroproduction of exclusive vector mesons has been studied with the
CLAS detector in the kinematical range GeV,
GeV, and GeV. The
scaling exponent for the total cross section as was
determined to be . The slope of the four-momentum transfer
distribution is GeV. Under the assumption of
s-channel helicity conservation (SCHC), we determine the ratio of longitudinal
to transverse cross sections to be . A 2-gluon exchange model
is able to reproduce the main features of the data.Comment: Phys Rev C, 15 pages, 18 figure
Measurement of the Polarized Structure Function for in the Resonance Region
The polarized longitudinal-transverse structure function
has been measured using the reaction in the
resonance region at and 0.65 GeV. No previous
data exist for this reaction channel. The kinematically
complete experiment was performed at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF Large
Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) using longitudinally polarized electrons at an
energy of 1.515 GeV. A partial wave analysis of the data shows generally better
agreement with recent phenomenological models of pion electroproduction
compared to the previously measured channel. A fit to both
and channels using a unitary isobar model suggests the unitarized
Born terms provide a consistent description of the non-resonant background. The
-channel pion pole term is important in the channel through a
rescattering correction, which could be model-dependent.Comment: 6 pages, LaTex, 5 eps figures: Submitted to PRC/Brief Reports v2:
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